Carlee Russell – latest: Boyfriend deletes social media post after controversial internet searches revealed

Alabama police expressed doubt over Carlee Russell‘s claim that she was abducted from the side of the road, saying she appears to have made internet searches relating to abductions prior to the incident.

Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said in a press conference that investigators were “unable to verify” most of the 25-year-old’s statements, in which she described being kidnapped after pulling off to the side of the interstate to help a toddler.

Shortly before Ms Russell went missing on 13 July, she called 911 to report seeing a toddler walking barefoot and alone alongside Interstate 459.

However, authorities have no evidence of said child and could not prove Ms Russell was kidnapped.

Mr Derzis told media about Ms Russell’s peculiar search history on Wednesday afternoon, saying she had searched for the movie Taken and Amber Alerts, raising the possibility she may have feigned her abduction.

Ms Russell has refused to be interviewed a second time. Police said she told them in her initial report that she was forced into an 18-wheeler truck and taken to a home where a man and woman forced her to strip and took photos of her.

Key Points

• Carlee Russell searched for Amber Alerts and movie 'Taken' before disappearing

• Alabama police find ‘no evidence’ Carlee Russell was trying to help toddler on highway when she disappeared

• What really happened to Carlee Russell?

• Carlee Russell’s parents insist she was kidnapped

• Police say no crime has been committed

Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. Police say they can’t verify any of it

05:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Carlee Russell vanished after calling 911 to report seeing a young boy in diapers on the side of a busy interstate. Police say they have serious doubts about her story, Bevan Hurley reports

What really happened to Carlee Russell?

What Carlee Russell’s mother said before press conference

05:00 , Ariana Baio

Could Carlee Russell face consequences?

04:30 , Ariana Baio

Police in Hoover, Alabama have said they were unable to verify most of Carlee Russell’s claims that she was kidnapped after pulling off to the side of the road while reporting a toddler was walking alone, leading to questions about whether she may face charges.

While police have not made any official allegations against Ms Russell, should they find that she made a false report, law enforcement could choose to charge her.

Section 13A-10-9 of the Alabama criminal code states that making a false report to law enforcement, knowingly, is a Class A misdemeanour.

When asked if law enforcement was planning on charging Ms Russell on Wednesday, Hoover police chief Nick Derzis replied: “To be perfectly honest with you, that hasn’t even entered our mind or been discussed.”

Mr Derzis said the priority of their investigation was to return Ms Russell home safely and find out where she was in the two days she was missing.

Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences?

04:00 , Ariana Baio

Police in Hoover, Alabama have said they were unable to verify most of Carlee Russell’s claims that she was kidnapped after pulling off to the side of the road while reporting a toddler was walking alone, leading to questions about whether she may face charges.

Ariana Baio reports:

Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences?

Investigators are focusing on the 49 hours Carlee Russell was missing

03:00 , Ariana Baio

Investigators in the Hoover Police Department will focus the remainder of their investigation on Carlee Russell’s whereabouts in the two days she was missing.

At first, investigators were prioritising Ms Russell’s safe return home.

But after she walked home on 15 July, the focus switched to what happened to her.

Ms Russell told police she was kidnapped after pulling her car off the side of the road to assist a child. But later, police refuted this saying they were unable to verify most of her statements.

Carlee Russell’s parents insist she was kidnapped as police refuse to confirm claims

02:00 , Ariana Baio

The parents of Carlee Russell, the 25-year-old Alabama woman who disappeared for 48 hours after reporting that she spotted a child on the side of a highway, have spoken out for the first time since their daughter returned.

“We tried to hug as best we could, but I had to stand back because she was not in a good state,” Talitha Russell told The Daily Beast about seeing her daughter return home. “So we had to stand back and let medical professionals work with her.”

Kelly Rissman reports:

Carlee Russell’s parents insist she was kidnapped as police refuse to confirm claims

Carlee Russell’s parents insisted she was kidnapped

01:00 , Ariana Baio

The parents of Carlee Russell, told the media that their daughter had been kidnapped when she first returned home.

“We tried to hug as best we could, but I had to stand back because she was not in a good state,” Talitha Russell told The Daily Beast about seeing her daughter return home. “So we had to stand back and let medical professionals work with her.”

While Ms Russell has been reported safe, mystery still swirls around what happened in the two days in which she vanished. Her parents and the police haven’t shared what transpired in that period.

Her parents have maintained that she was “absolutely” abducted. “There were moments when she physically had to fight for her life, and there were moments when she had to mentally fight for her life,” the mother told the outlet.

“She’s having to deal with the trauma of people just making completely false allegations about her,” she added. “Carlee has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor.”

Since police have come out and refuted some of those claims, the Russells have not made any public comments.

Watch: Hoover police’s press conference on Wednesday

Friday 21 July 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

Carlee Russell drove for 600 yards while ‘following’ toddler

Thursday 20 July 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

Carlee Russell drove 600 yards (548m) along an Alabama interstate while on the phone to a 911 operator claiming that she was following a lost toddler, authorities have revealed.

The 25-year-old told detectives she was abducted by a man with “orange hair” who appeared from the side of Interstate 459 after stopping to help a “baby boy in a diaper” just after 9.30pm on 13 July.

She turned up on foot at her parent’s home in Hoover two days later with $107 tucked in her right sock, and claimed she had barely survived after being forced to strip naked before escaping from her kidnappers.

Data from Ms Russell’s cellphone showed she had driven the length of six football fields while talking to police dispatch, an incredulous Hoover Police Department chief Nicholas Derzis said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be three or four years old is going to travel six football fields without getting on the roadway, without crying... it’s very hard for me to understand,” Mr Derzis said.

Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts

Thursday 20 July 2023 22:30 , Ariana Baio

The boyfriend of Carlee Russell has seemingly deleted social media posts containing photos or mentions of Ms Russell after police cast doubt over her allegations that she was kidnapped.

Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts after police cast doubt

Alabama police find ‘no evidence’ Carlee Russell was trying to help toddler on highway when she disappeared

Thursday 20 July 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

Hoover Police have cast doubts on one of the key aspects of the case – saying that there is no evidence that there was ever a toddler walking along the highway that night.

Authorities also released other new details about the case including that Carlee Russell visited a Target store to buy snacks just before her disappearance and that they have obtained surveillance footage of the moment she returned home.

On the night she disappeared, Hoover police said that the 25-year-old left her workplace and ordered food from nearby restaurant The Colonnade.

After stopping by The Colonnade, she went to the Target on Highway 280 and bought some snacks, police said.

These items were not found inside her abandoned vehicle along the highway nor were they found with her cellphone and wig at the scene of her disappearance.

Police said that the investigation had uncovered no evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate and had not received any additional calls about a wandering child – despite surveillance footage capturing numerous other vehicles passing through the area around that time.

Rachel Sharp reports:

Alabama police find ‘no evidence’ Carlee Russell was trying to help toddler

Listen to Carlee Russell’s 911 phone call

Thursday 20 July 2023 21:30 , Ariana Baio

Mother of kidnapped and murdered Alabama teen speaks out after she helped search for Carlee Russell

Thursday 20 July 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

Angela Harris, the mother of slain teen Aniah Blanchard, has sent a dire message in the wake of an exhaustive investigation by Alabama authorities into the mysterious circumstances in which Carlee Russell allegedly went missing.

“People want to know the truth, they need to know if there’s a predator out there ... Y’all, there are predators out there that you need to beware of. Were’ not [just] talking about the Carlee situation ... just in general, in life,” Ms Harris said in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday.

Ms Harris created a nonprofit organisation to promote safety education after her 19-year-old daughter Aniah was murdered in 2019.

She helped in the search for Ms Russell and has now called for the public to remain patient — and cautious — as an investigation is underway.

“There are predators out there, everywhere, it doesn’t matter. Please get that into your head. It can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime.”

Could Carlee Russell face consequences?

Thursday 20 July 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

Police in Hoover, Alabama have said they were unable to verify most of Carlee Russell’s claims that she was kidnapped after pulling off to the side of the road while reporting a toddler was walking alone, leading to questions about whether she may face charges.

While police have not made any official allegations against Ms Russell, should they find that she made a false report, law enforcement could choose to charge her.

Section 13A-10-9 of the Alabama criminal code states that making a false report to law enforcement, knowingly, is a Class A misdemeanour.

When asked if law enforcement was planning on charging Ms Russell on Wednesday, Hoover police chief Nick Derzis replied: “To be perfectly honest with you, that hasn’t even entered our mind or been discussed.”

Mr Derzis said the priority of their investigation was to return Ms Russell home safely and find out where she was in the two days she was missing.

Money raised in Carlee Russell investigation could be returned to donors

Thursday 20 July 2023 20:00 , Ariana Baio

In the hours after Carlee Russell was declared missing, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama began accepting donations to contribute to a reward that could be offered to someone with information that led to the discovery of Ms Russell.

Now that Ms Russell returned home herself with questions in tow, the reward could be returned to donors should they decide it is no longer valid.

Police raised questions on Wednesday about Ms Russell’s alleged kidnapping after they were unable to verify many of her claims.

Several donors expressed concerns about their donations no longer going to use.

In a Facebook post, the organisation said it had raised over $58,000 for Ms Russell and told one donor that once the investigation is complete they could be refunded if law enforcement determines the reward was not validated.

Surveillance video shows Carlee Russell returning home

Thursday 20 July 2023 19:30 , Ariana Baio

Detectives in the Hoover Police Department said they obtained surveillance footage of Ms Russell returning home two days after being ‘kidnapped’.

The footage, obtained from a neighbour shows Ms Russell “walking down the sidewalk alone”.

Police were dispatched to Ms Russell’s home when she returned where they found her “unresponsive but breathing.”

Ms Russell mysteriously disappeared after pulling her car off on the interstate to help a toddler who she claimed was walking along the interstate alone and in a diaper.

It is unclear what happened to Ms Russell in the two days she was missing but police are expected to give an update this afternoon.

Watch: Police describe Carlee Russell’s internet search history

Thursday 20 July 2023 19:00 , Ariana Baio

Mother of kidnapped and murdered Alabama teen speaks out after she helped in search for Carlee Russell

Thursday 20 July 2023 18:30 , Ariana Baio

The mother of slain teen Aniah Blanchard has sent a dire message in the wake of an exhaustive investigation by Alabama authorities into the mysterious circumstances in which Carlee Russell allegedly went missing.

Angela Harris, who created a nonprofit organization to promote safety education after her 19-year-old daughter Aniah was murdered in 2019, helped in the search for Ms Russell and has now called for the public to remain patient — and cautious — as an investigation is underway.

Andrea Blanco reports:

Aniah Blanchard’s mother speaks out after she helped in search for Carlee Russell

Authorities want to interview Carlee Russell again

Thursday 20 July 2023 18:00 , Ariana Baio

After a police conference on Wednesday, authorities from the Hoover Police Department said they hope to interview Carlee Russell again after discovering much of her initial statement was unverifiable.

“As you can see there are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee can provide those answers,” police chief Nick Derzis said.

Mr Derzis said police have asked to interview Ms Russell again but their request has so far been denied.

Timeline in Carlee Russell case

Thursday 20 July 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

11 July

7.30am: Ms Russell searched for “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert” on her phone.

13 July

1.03am: Ms Russell searched, “How to take money from register without getting caught Reddit.”

2.13am: Ms Russell searched, “Birmingham bus station”.

2.35am: Ms Russell searched one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville.

8.20pm: Ms Russell leaves her workplace. Surveillance video shows her concealing a dark-colored bathrobe, roll of toilet paper and one other item belonging to the business before leaving.

She then ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant and went to pick it up.

After, she stopped by Target where she purchased granola bars, Cheez-Its and a beverage.

9.21pm: Ms Russell leaves the parking lot of Target and begins driving on Interstate 459

9.34pm: Ms Russell calls 911 to report a wandering toddler on the side of the interstate.

9.36pm: Ms Russell calls her brother’s girlfriend to inform her she’s going to pull over to assist the child. The woman on the other end of the phone heard Ms Russell scream.

14 July

Search begins for Ms Russell.

15 July

10.45pm: Ms Russell returns home on foot

Another mysterious case out of Texas: Rudy Farias

Thursday 20 July 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

Rudy Farias’ mother announced he was found alive eight years after he was reported missing as a teen. This news came as a surprise to neighbours and police, who are sure he wasn’t missing at all.

Andrea Blanco reports:

Rudy Farias was ‘found’ after eight years. But he was never really missing

Carlee Russell’s parents and boyfriend believed she was kidnapped

Thursday 20 July 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

The parents of Carlee Russell, maintained that she was “absolutely” abducted in the 49 hours she was missing.

“There were moments when she physically had to fight for her life, and there were moments when she had to mentally fight for her life,” Ms Russell’s mother, Talitha Russell told The Daily Beast.

“She’s having to deal with the trauma of people just making completely false allegations about her,” she added. “Carlee has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor.”

Ms Russell’s boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, echoed the parents’ theories on Facebook.

Mr Simmons wrote: “She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she’s physically & mentally stable again she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment.”

Police said that traffic cameras caught Ms Russell stopping at the side of the road, but the footage did not show the child. There were also no reports of any missing child, according to the police. They also expressed doubt over the allegations of her kidnapping.

Police say no crime has been committed

Thursday 20 July 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities in Alabama said that no charges have been brought forward and no crime has been committed as of now in Carlee Russell’s case.

During a press conference on Wednesday, police revealed that they had no evidence Ms Russell was kidnapped or that a small child was walking along the interstate alone.

Ms Russell called 911 to report the child walking alone.

Although the small child was supposedly walking along the busy interstate, no other drivers reported the child and there were no notices of missing children in the area.

“What we can say is we’ve been unable to verify most of Carlee’s initial statements made to investigators. And we have no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public safety related to this particular case,” chief Nick Derzis said.

The case is still being investigated according to police.

What Carlee Russell told authorities

Thursday 20 July 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

After 25-year-old Carlee Russell returned home from a 49-hour mysterious disappearance, her family, authorities and the public were watching on the edge of their seats to find out where she was and what happened.

Police interviewed Ms Russell after she sought medical attention in which she told them she was kidnapped.

In a news conference on Wednesday, police in the Hoover Police Department revealed that much of what Ms Russell told them was unverifiable.

Here’s what Ms Russell told authorities:

Ms Russell claimed she was driving down the interstate when she saw a small child around three years old walking alone, wearing nothing but a diaper and a t-shirt.

She called 911 as well as her brother’s girlfriend to report the child and explain she was pulling off the side of the road to assist the child.

Ms Russell then alleged that a man, with orange hair, emerged from the trees and picked her up and forced her into a vehicle. She claims the man then drove her to the trailer of an 18-wheeler truck where there was a woman waiting.

“She told detectives the male had orange hair with a big bald spot on the back. She said she was able to escape the 18-wheeler and fled on foot, only to be captured again and then was put in a car. She claimed she was then blindfolded but was not tied up because the captor said he did not want to leave impressions on her wrists,” police chief Nick Derzis said.

During her “captivity,” Ms Russell said the man made her get undressed and took photos of her but did not physically touch her. She said she was fed cheese crackers by the woman and that she played with her hair.

Eventually, Ms Russell says she escaped from a car and walked home.

Carlee Russell searched for Amber Alerts and the movie ‘Taken’ before disappearing, say police

Thursday 20 July 2023 15:00 , Ariana Baio

Alabama authorities disclosed a series of internet searches and said they were unable to verify Carlee Russell’s allegations as she has since refused to be interviewed.

On 11 July, Ms Russell used her cell phone to search for information on whether payment is required for an Amber Alert, police said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Two days later, on 13 July, Ms Russell conducted two searches related to Amber Alerts using her work computer. One of the searches was about the maximum age for an Amber Alert.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports:

Carlee Russell searched for Amber Alerts and ‘Taken’ before disappearing, say police

Watch: Police give timeline of disappearance in Carlee Russell

Thursday 20 July 2023 14:30 , Ariana Baio

Carlee Russell’s internet searches suggest she staged her own kidnapping, Alabama police say

Thursday 20 July 2023 14:00 , Ariana Baio

Carlee Russell made a series of suspicious internet searches in the days before she claimed to have been abducted, Alabama authorities revealed at a press conference on Wednesday.

A forensic analysis of Ms Russell’s cell phone, work and home computers found she looked up information about the movie Taken, Amber Alerts, booking a bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville and “how to take money from a register without being caught”, Hoover Police Department Nicholas Derzis told reporters.

The searches shed light on the 25-year-old’s mindset leading up to when she claimed to have been kidnapped after seeing a toddler walking along the side of Interstate 459 on 13 July, Mr Derzis said.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Carlee Russell’s internet searches suggest she staged her own kidnapping, police say

Carlee Russell’s search history may point to answers

Thursday 20 July 2023 13:00 , Ariana Baio

In the days and hours leading up to Carlee Russell’s disappearance, the 25-year-old made a series of interesting internet searches that could provide some answers.

According to Hoover police chief Nick Derzis, Ms Russell searched for, “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?” two days before her disappearance.

Then in the hours leading up to her alleged abduction on 13 July, Ms Russell searched, “How to take money from a register without being caught” and “One-way bus tickets from Birmingham to Nashville.”

She also looked up the movie Taken which is about the abduction of a young woman.

Ms Russell also searched for more information about Amber Alerts while she was at her workplace – which was the last location she was seen before she went missing for 49 hours.

Carlee Russell was driving while on the phone with 911

Thursday 20 July 2023 12:00 , Ariana Baio

Before Carlee Russell went ‘missing’, she called 911 to inform the police that she spotted a three-to-four-year-old child walking alone, barefoot, in only a diaper and t-shirt along the interstate.

According to Ms Russell, she got out of her car to assist the small toddler and was kidnapped by a man.

Police raised eyebrows saying that no other people driving along the busy interstate noticed the toddler or called the police and no children had been reported missing in the area.

Then during a press conference on Wednesday, Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said that in Ms Russell’s brief phone call to police, she travelled approximately 600 yards (the size of six football fields) while claiming she was pulled off on the side of the road.

Authorities used location-tracking information via her cell phone to see she had not pulled off on the interstate and was likely not following a small child.

Alabama authorities are unsure where Carlee Russell was

Thursday 20 July 2023 11:00 , Ariana Baio

Wednesday afternoon’s press conference has left people with more unanswered questions about Carlee Russell’s whereabouts for the 49 hours she was declared missing.

Police in Alabama have made it clear they are unable to verify any of Ms Russell claims of being kidnapped or following a toddler walking alongside the interstate.

Although Ms Russell described a horrific kidnapping tale to police, authorities do not believe any crime was committed as there is no evidence that Ms Russell’s claims occurred.

However, what question remains is where Ms Russell was for the two days she was missing.

Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. Police say they can’t verify any of it

Thursday 20 July 2023 10:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Carlee Russell vanished after calling 911 to report seeing a young boy in diapers on the side of a busy interstate. Police say they have serious doubts about her story, Bevan Hurley reports:

What really happened to Carlee Russell?

911 call reveals Carlee Russell was ‘unresponsive but breathing’ when she returned home

Thursday 20 July 2023 10:00 , Ariana Baio

The Hoover Police Department said they received a 911 call from the home Ms Russell shares with her parents at 10.44pm on Saturday to say she had returned home on foot.

Ms Russell was “unresponsive but breathing”, according to police dispatch audio obtained by Mail Online.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Carlee Russell was ‘unresponsive but breathing’ when she returned home

Watch: Police describe internet searches Carlee Russell made before disappearance

Thursday 20 July 2023 09:00 , Ariana Baio

Carlee Russell drove for 600 yards along an interstate while telling 911 she was following toddler, police say

Thursday 20 July 2023 08:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Carlee Russell drove 600 yards (548m) along an Alabama interstate while on the phone to a 911 operator claiming that she was following a lost toddler, authorities have revealed.

The 25-year-old told detectives she was abducted by a man with “orange hair” who appeared from the side of Interstate 459 after stopping to help a “baby boy in a diaper” just after 9.30pm on 13 July.

She turned up on foot at her parent’s home in Hoover two days later with $107 tucked in her right sock, and claimed she had barely survived after being forced to strip naked before escaping from her kidnappers.

Data from Ms Russell’s cellphone showed she had driven the length of six football fields while talking to police dispatch, an incredulous Hoover Police Department chief Nicholas Derzis said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be three or four years old is going to travel six football fields without getting on the roadway, without crying... it’s very hard for me to understand,” Mr Derzis said.

Read the full story here:

Carlee Russell drove for 600 yards while telling 911 she was following toddler

Carlee Russell was supposedly helping a toddler, police say differently

Thursday 20 July 2023 08:00 , Ariana Baio

Nursing student Carlee Russell, 25, vanished without a trace from the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover on the night of 13 July – just moments after she called 911 saying she had spotted a toddler alone on the road.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Ms Russell’s car still running and her cell phone and wig close by, but no sign of the 25-year-old.

A huge search operation was launched to try to track down the missing woman, with her family begging the public to come forward with any information.

Investigators in Alabama have found “no evidence” that Ms Russell was trying to help a toddler walking along a highway at the time of her mysterious disappearance.

On the night she disappeared, Hoover police said that the 25-year-old left her workplace and ordered food from nearby restaurant The Colonnade.

After stopping by The Colonnade, she went to the Target on Highway 280 and bought some snacks, police said.

These items were not found inside her abandoned vehicle along the highway nor were they found with her cellphone and wig at the scene of her disappearance.

Police said that the investigation had uncovered no evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate and had not received any additional calls about a wandering child – despite surveillance footage capturing numerous other vehicles passing through the area around that time.

Carlee Russell claims kidnappers forced her to strip and took photos, police says

Thursday 20 July 2023 07:54 , Anuj Pant

The Alabama police has said that the 25-year-old nursing student told them her kidnappers had abducted her on an 18-wheeler truck and took her to a home where they forced her to strip and then took her photos.She said the kidnappers were a man and a woman, police said.The claim comes as Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said officials were “unable to verify” most of her statements about her alleged kidnapping.Police also told media about Ms Russell’s search history days before her kidnapping. Ms Russell had returned home alone and barefoot days later.

Carlee Russell’s employer breaks silence on ‘sensitive’ investigation into her bizarre disappearance

Thursday 20 July 2023 07:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A beauty spa where nursing student Carlee Russell was working on the night she vanished from the side of an Alabama interstate says it is cooperating with a “sensitive” police investigation into her disappearance.

Ms Russell, 25, left the Woodhouse Spa in the Summit luxury shopping mall in Birmingham at about 8.20pm on 13 July, according to authorities.

She called 911 at 9.34pm that night to report seeing a toddler wandering on the side of Interstate 459, and when police arrived five minutes Ms Russell had vanished while the engine of her car was still running.

Ms Russell turned up on foot at just over two days later at her parents’ home in Hoover, and her family has since said she was kidnapped and barely survived.

In a statement to WVTM, Woodhouse Spa owner Stuart Rome said he had turned over “everything we uncovered” to the Hoover Police Department.

Read the full story by Bevan Hurley here:

Carlee Russell’s employer breaks silence on investigation into bizarre disappearance

Thursday 20 July 2023 07:00 , Ariana Baio

A woman who went missing after telling her family she spotted a child walking alone on a stretch of Alabama highway earlier this week has returned home.

Carlethia Nichole “Carlee” Russell returned to her parents’ home at 10.45pm on Saturday 15 July, two days after she appeared to vanish after calling 911 to report a toddler who appeared to be stranded no the side of a stretch of interstate.

It was not immediately clear what happened within those two days or how she arrived home. She was taken to hospital for evaluation; Hoover Police Department officials said that “additional information will be provided when it becomes available”.

Alex Woodward reports:

Woman who reported toddler on the side of a highway returns home after going missing

What police found when they located Carlee Russell’s car

Thursday 20 July 2023 06:00 , Ariana Baio

Authorities in Alabama were dispatched to the location of 25-year-old Carlee Russell’s vehicle which was pulled off on the side of an interstate after Ms Russell called 911 claiming a toddler was walking along the road.

Police officers arrived on the scene five minutes after Ms Russell called to find her wig, cellphone and purse along the road. Inside her bag was an Apple Watch.

Before she went missing, authorities determined Ms Russell stopped by a store to buy snacks but noticeably missing from her vehicle were said snacks.

“These items were not located in the vehicle or with her cellphone and wig at the scene of her disappearance,” the police statement read.

The Hoover Police Department is expected to give an update to the case in a press conference at 3.30pm ET on Wednesday

Carlee Russell’s search history may point to answers

Thursday 20 July 2023 05:30 , Ariana Baio

In the days and hours leading up to Carlee Russell’s disappearance, the 25-year-old made a series of interesting internet searches that could provide some answers.

According to Hoover police chief Nick Derzis, Ms Russell searched for things like, “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert” two days before her disappearance.

In the hours leading up to her alleged abduction on 13 July, Ms Russell searched, “How to take money from a register without being caught” and “One-way bus tickets from Birmingham to Nashville.”

She also looked up the movie Taken which is about the abduction of a young woman.

Ms Russell also searched for more information about Amber Alerts while she was at her workplace – which was the last location she was seen before she went missing for 49 hours.